Navy Vet Scores Court Win In CNN Defamation Lawsuit

U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young scored another victory on Friday ahead of his high-profile defamation trial against CNN, as a Florida judge ruled that the network’s expert witness cannot testify that he suffered zero lost income or profits as a result of the segment at the center of the case, according to Fox News Digital. 

Young alleges that CNN smeared him by implying he illegally profited via a "black market" when helping people flee Afghanistan during the Biden administration's military withdrawal from the country in 2021. The veteran believes CNN "destroyed his reputation and business" during a segment that year on Jake Tapper's program "The Lead," which was shared on social media and also repackaged for CNN's website. 

Young’s legal team argued that Brian Buss, who CNN wanted to use as an expert, should not be able to testify "on the basis of his qualifications and methodology and that his opinion is cumulative of another retained expert" of CNN, according to a court filing obtained by Fox News Digital. 

CNN pushed back, arguing that Buss’ "qualifications and methodology were sound, his opinions are proper and that his testimony is not cumulative of another expert’s opinion," according to Judge William Henry.

Judge Henry cited Florida standards that expert opinion and testimony "must be relevant and reliable," and noted that Buss was retained by CNN to "to opine regarding Young’s lost income/profits and mitigation of damages, and as a rebuttal witness to Plaintiffs’ expert."

"In formulating his opinions, Mr. Buss reviewed documentation produced by Plaintiffs regarding past income, including tax returns, employment contracts, bank statements and other financial reports and records, along with deposition testimony," Judge Henry wrote.